Rwanda's first female pilot takes to the skies

By Marc Hoeferlin and Lauren Said-Moorhouse, for CNN

Updated 1340 GMT (2040 HKT) June 17, 2014

Soaring through the skies: Rwanda's first female pilot6 photos

Soaring through the skies – As Rwanda's first female commercial pilot, Esther Mbabazi wants women to realize they can do anything. "Time has changed. Women are out there working, technology has changed, and everyone has the brains to do something, now it's not about how much bicep or how much energy you have."

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Soaring through the skies: Rwanda's first female pilot6 photos

Soaring through the skies – A typical day sees the 26-year-old on duty for an often exhausting 12-hour shift but after achieving her lifelong ambition of being up in the clouds, Mbabazi wouldn't change a single thing. "If you're in a field that you are really, you have passion for it. You can't wait for what tomorrow is going to bring for you, for me, that's my biggest achievement -- to be in a place whereby I'm happy."

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Soaring through the skies: Rwanda's first female pilot6 photos

Soaring through the skies – Being a pilot isn't just sitting in the cockpit, explains Mbabazi. "Basically you need to know your crew: who you are flying with, and the weather, from your departure, your arrival and your alternate, if the weather in your destination is not good, so you need the alternate as well." And that's before you even get onto the aircraft...

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Soaring through the skies: Rwanda's first female pilot6 photos

Soaring through the skies – Moving into the role of pilot has been a tough journey and it hasn't been any easier since she finished her training. Mbabazi reveals that being a female pilot still causes increased scrutiny. "I think it's perception. Right now you meet a lot of people and some are very excited, and some are OK."

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Soaring through the skies: Rwanda's first female pilot6 photos

Soaring through the skies – Recalling one particular incident, she says: "The cabin crew said we'll gladly leave you behind. You've already paid the ticket, so if your reason is that basic and shallow, it's not because of safety reasons. It's just because you don't want to fly with a woman, we'll gladly leave you behind."

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Soaring through the skies: Rwanda's first female pilot6 photos

Soaring through the skies – Mbabazi may have achieved her goal of becoming a pilot by 24 years old. Yet her ambitions keep getting bigger. "When I was younger I used to see the U.N. planes and the World Food Program take relief and foods to war torn areas and I thought to myself I'd like to do this one day."

Story highlights

A tough dream job for many but for a women in Rwanda, it was previously unheard of

Mbabazi says that as a woman she is scrutinized more intensely in the aviation industry

"If there's a woman on board and something happens you know definitely you're going to be mentioned"

Esther Mbabazi wheels her bag towards the airstairs of the Boeing 737 sitting quietly on the tarmac at Kigali International Airport. Today she'll be flying from Rwanda's capital city to Juba in South Sudan.

A short hop south with a flying time of around 1 hour and 20 minutes. But for Mbabazi, 26, it isn't about the destination. As Rwanda's first female pilot, it's about the journey and her highest priority is to get passengers safely to their terminus.

"Growing up I wanted to be a pilot when I was four," says Mbabazi, who became a pilot for Rwanda's national airline carrier, RwandAir, at 24. "I'd never been inside a cockpit but I used to see a plane in the sky and I imagined that thing must be flown by someone.

"I had to go for it. Even though it looked like a long shot, it was my only shot -- that's how I saw it so I went for it, and here I am."

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During her childhood, Esther's family would move on a regular basis due to her father's work as a pastor. But her desire to take to the skies never wavered, even after her father passed away in a plane crash in the Democratic Republic of Congo, when the passenger aircraft he was traveling on overshot the runway and hit some terrain.

"From day one, he was always my biggest supporter or fan," recalls Mbabazi, who lost her father before turning 10."[But] an accident is an accident. Like I said, if someone gets hit by a car, you don't stop driving.

"You can't live life being scared an in fear of anything. If something is bound to happen, you can't stop it."

Going all in

Thus, Mbabazi continued to work toward her goal of becoming a pilot and achieving what no other woman in her country had done before.

Once she completed high school, she packed her things and bought a one-way ticket to attend pilot school in Uganda.

"When I went it was a one-way decision," she says. "If they bounce me, I'll just pack my things and come back -- so that was the way I joined pilot school, and it was a long journey."

A year later, Mbabazi began training with Rwandair in Miami and her exploration of the aviation world began.

"My greatest memories are flying to different cities," she says. "Being in the sky gives you a whole other view -- you get to see what they call a bird's eye view of everything."

Sexism in the skies?

Now, the young pilot has become a pioneer in a male-dominated industry in Rwanda, and yet she knows she is constantly being closely watched because of her gender.

"No one ever says, 'Oh it's a male crew aircraft that crashed,' even though it's been many of the sort," she says. "But you know, if there's a woman on board and something happens, you know, definitely you're going to be mentioned."

Mbabazi recalls a previous incident where a passenger realized that the pilot for his flight was a woman shortly after arriving at the gate and refused to get on the flight.

"The cabin crew said we'll gladly leave you behind. You've already paid the ticket, so if your reason is that basic and shallow, it's not because of safety reasons. It's just because you don't want to fly with a woman, we'll gladly leave you behind."

Mbabazi refuses to let her critics win and is determined to continue being a role model for others. She hopes that her achievements can provide inspiration to other women who might not think they can attain their dreams jobs.

"Time has changed," she says. "Women are out there working, technology has changed, and everyone has the brains to do something, now it's not about how much bicep or how much energy you have."